Wednesday, July 14, 2010

The invasion of Asian Carp into the Illinois river and likely from there into the Great Lakes poses both a crisis and an oppotunity and it looks like some people are finding the opportunity:

Gov. Pat Quinn announced Tuesday that the state will put $2 million into refurbishing and expanding a fish plant in Pearl River, Ill., that plans to process 30 million pounds of Asian carp a year, turning the feared fish into frozen fillets and shipping them back to their native China. The fish will be sold there as high-end restaurant fare.

"The rivers in China are so polluted, people now eat farm-raised carp," said Ross Harano, international marketing director for Big River Fish Corp. "They're excited about our wild carp."

I predicted the usefulness of fishing for the carp and its nice to be proven right, not to mention this looks like a serious money-maker:

State officials hope the plant will reduce the thriving Asian carp population in the Illinois River before the fish approach the electric barriers meant to keep them out of the Great Lakes.

"The high quality and taste of the wild Asian carp from Big River Fish far exceeded our expectations," said Liang Chang, chairman of Beijing Zhuochen Animal Husbandry, which will import the fish in China. "We see a tremendous market in China for the wild Asian carp."